What’s the most boring video you have ever seen? Have a think….
I wager a guess it’s probably a mandatory training film or a corporate sales video intent on ‘selling’ a product or a service. At Orange Fox, the word ‘boring’ has been removed from our vocabulary and banished to the fiery depths of hell. We encourage everyone else to do the same. We challenge our clients, business partners and collaborators to think differently as we believe the secret to good storytelling is authenticity.
If you look at the very best marketing adverts they don’t sell you a product or a service but instead they make you feel something. Whether that’s laughter, a bucket load of tears or getting you on the edge of your seat. The very best marketing makes you feel.
Authenticity makes for more memorable messages and more impactful communications that touch your audience on an emotional level. That’s the difference between a thoughtful piece of video storytelling whereby the message and audience have been considered first. The second approach is a corporate video that has been produced because the client “wanted a video”. This is a reactive approach and a gamble on success.
Over the last decade online video has taken over the digital landscape. It is expected that by 2021, 80% of all Internet traffic will be video – a number that’s been on the rise year on year for quite some time, with no expectation of slowing down anytime soon. Video has become a fundamental way people consume content online. Simply put, if your company isn’t using video as part of your marketing then you are missing out on thousands or possibly millions of potential customers.
Three companies have been at the forefront of the digital landscape shift – Google, Facebook and Netflix. The accessibility of camera technology in the latest smartphones and decreasing costs of production equipment coupled with the rise of YouTube has led to a proliferation of video shooters.
YouTube is the largest online search platform in the world, second only to Google. In addition to YouTube, Facebook has given anyone with a camera-phone and an internet connection the possibility to upload short-form content to the web at the touch of a button.
Then there is Netflix. The online streaming platform that revolutionized how audiences consume stories, both short form and longer – and it has set the bar very high indeed. Those precious first few seconds of your visual communications are absolutely vital to grab the attention of your audience. Viewers are well-accustomed to content that looks like TV and Film with high production values, great scripting, great acting, beautiful cinematography and perfect sound – nothing less than brilliant will do the job.
Couple this with our ever-decreasing attention spans and the need for a perfectly executed marketing video becomes even greater. So how does one stand out in an over-saturated market, where there are literally millions of videos out there. This is where video storytelling comes in.
Goldfish have really short attention spans!
Storytelling isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s the very backbone of society. Humans have been telling stories for thousands of years – From cave wall doodles, the bible, paintings, poems, literature, film, right through to the aforementioned Netflix. It works as a form of communication because it’s embedded in our nature to connect through story. This makes storytelling a fantastic way to foster a strong connection between your business and your audience and do so on a personal level.
As video storytellers, our job is to help customers understand your values through useful, original or unique content. Video should always have a purpose and bring value to your customer, whether through laughter, practical advice or creative insights. Customers look to you for education, entertainment and excitement, and your ultimate goal is engagement.
So, the next time you have a business problem and think video could be the answer, don’t take a reactive approach. Evaluate your online identity and figure out what you’re missing and what your customers would like to see. Ask yourself; “who’s my audience?”, “what’s my message?”, and “what story can I tell that my audience can relate too?”.
